The role of Choctaw fathers and uncles

Iti Fabvssa﻿

May's edition of Iti Fabvssa honored Choctaw
mothers. With June being the month of Father's Day, this edition is
dedicated to honoring Choctaw fathers and maternal uncles. We will
do this by presenting a little bit of what is known about the daily
lives, roles, and personal character of early Choctaw men.

Traditional Choctaw society places a special
emphasis on balance. The vital and sacred roles of women in 18th
Century Choctaw society, which we described last month, were offset
and balanced by the roles of men. While women were considered the
givers and nurturers of life, men were considered the takers of
life. For example: while women gave birth to children, men killed
the enemies who threatened the future of Choctaw communities;
similarly, while women grew gardens, men supplemented their
family's diet with meat from animals that they hunted. Choctaw
folklore likens women unto hiloha, the rolling thunder, men are
likened unto malvtha, the powerful lightning that can split
trees.

Choctaw girls grew into women through the sacred
power innate in their bodies. Conversely, boys could become men
only through years of hard physical, mental and spiritual training
in order to be able to prove their worth through success in
hunting, stickball, oration/debate, and most importantly, battle.
Without proven success, a male would never be considered a man,
regardless of how old he became. The path to manhood was a hard
one; some didn't make it; some perished in the attempt, and some
become hobak. Those who did become men would be recognized as
persons worthy of respect; their advice would be valued in tribal
council meetings; they would be sought after by young women looking
for a good husband, and they would become fathers. Continued
success in masculine pursuits through life might take a man all the
way up to the office of chief.

Let's take a little closer look at the path of
Choctaw men in the 18th Century. At birth, or shortly thereafter,
baby boys would be given a name that often reflected a particular
occurrence in their early lives, or referred to a distinguishing
quality or characteristic. Young boys' beds were covered in bear or
panther skins, the belief being that this would help transfer the
bravery and powerful quality of these animals onto the boy as he
slept. At the age of three or four, a boy would be given a bow and
arrows and encouraged to practice. Boys of a little more maturity
would assemble early in the morning to learn tribal history, battle
strategy, and lessons in morals and spirituality from respected
elder men. They were trained to be honest, generous, and to keep
their emotions from controlling them. Boys were given a great deal
of freedom, and often spent the day running races, wrestling,
having shooting contests, hunting small animals, playing physically
demanding games like stickball and achapi, and playing games of
intuition, like naki luma (hide the bullet). These activities were
fun, but they also developed the set of skills, physical abilities,
and competency in the woods that would all be essential for the
boys to one day take on the roles of men. In the evening, the boys
would again assemble for stories from the elder men. As the boys
grew in age, the men would begin taking them out on hunts. On these
forays, boys were given a great deal of silent teaching and
encouragement. As boys matured physically, they became known as
"Hattak Himitta", or "young men". Theirs was the lowest of four
"gradations" for Choctaw males.

War had always been a part of Choctaw life, but
when European colonial powers arrived in the Southeast, they worked
hard to increase dissention and war between the tribes. Beginning
in the late 1600s, English sponsored slaving and scalping raids
were waged almost constantly against Choctaw communities. Choctaw
society became militarized in order to survive. At least in some
communities, young men were whipped with canes to teach train them
not to fear pain or physical hardship. Some, of their own accord,
had contests to see who could stand next to stirred-up hornet nests
the longest. In their mid teens, boys might begin traveling with
the Tvshka Chimpota, small defensive patrols that searched for
raiding war parties within Choctaw country. With proven ability,
youth might be asked to go on an occasional war party into enemy
country to avenge the deaths of clan relatives, although most
Choctaw battles were defensive ones.

Success in war would bring about a transformational
change in a male's life.

After showing some feet of prowess against an
enemy, a male became a Tvshka, or warrior, the gradation rank for
Choctaw males. It was at this point that he was really recognized
as a man in Choctaw society. He would likely be tattooed, and given
a new, warrior name, by which even strangers would recognize him as
a man worthy of respect. Many of these war names describe what the
warrior did in battle, and end in the word "vbi" (generally spelled
ubbee in English), meaning, "to beat" or "kill." Thus, we have
"Musholatubbee," meaning "extinguishes and kills; Eyachubbe,
meaning "goes and kills," and Nowabbi, meaning "walks and kills."
Many Choctaw families still carry these names today, handed down
from distinguished combat veteran grandfathers several generations
ago. In 18th century Choctaw society, Tvshka were respected as
protectors of the community, and their opinions mattered at Tribal
Council.

With continued success in war, a man's prestige
would continue to grow. He would be able to raise followers for his
own military expeditions, and possibly earn a new war name or
title, possibly going through a succession of several. The titles
of such highly successful warriors often incorporated the word
"humma," meaning "red" in the Choctaw language. In traditional
Choctaw thought, this color was associated with warfare and
military success. Thus, we have Shulushumma, "Red Shoes," and
"Tvshkahumma," "Red Warrior."

Although military success was important, men were
not gauged on this factor alone. With some military success,
demonstrated speaking ability, intelligence, leadership, and
generosity could pull a man up through the ranks respect and social
power. For example, some highly honorable Choctaw titles end in the
phrase "imalhtaha," meaning "it is finished to him." The name
Hopaii Imalhtaha, implies that this special person had reached the
height of being a profit. Such a man might have been part of the
third gradation in Choctaw society, a "Hattak Holitopa," a beloved
man, respected for his wisdom and spiritual power. He would be
welcomed towards the inner circle of the Choctaw council.

Success in war and leadership, and proven wisdom
could bring a Choctaw man all the way to the fourth and highest
male gradation in Choctaw society, miko, or "chief." Choctaw
society had a variety of chiefly positions, including assistant
community chiefs, local community chiefs, and district chiefs.
While having important family connections could certainly help a
man's prestige, and climb through the different gradations,
positions were maintained through merit. A slip-up could demote a
Miko down to a Tvshka. Chief Pushmataha, who apparently had few
living family members, is the perfect example of a Choctaw male
raising through the ranks of Choctaw society solely on his own
merit.

Although protecting the community was a man's most
important job, to which he might be called at any instant, men
actually spent the great majority of their time away from the
battlefield. As before mentioned, honored men taught and trained
the boys of the community. Within the family, training and
discipline of the children, particularly boys, was the duty of
their mother's brother. Unlike the children's father, he was of
their same iksa and clan.

Men also hunted meat for their families, and
perhaps others in their iksa who had no one to hunt for them. The
meat they provided was essential to the plant-rich Choctaw diet,
and the hides, tendons, hooves and antlers were important raw
materials. Although men enjoyed these hunts, they were not
leisurely affairs by today's standards. Men often traveled many
miles on foot over difficult terrain attempting to find game, and
then had to stalk close enough to shoot it. Sometimes the hunts
involved dangerous animals such as panther and black bear, and
there was always a chance of encountering an enemy war party while
one was out far from home and alone.

As alluded to above, another important male role
was playing stickball. Although the game could sometimes serve as a
simple pastime, contests with other villages or other Tribes could
be very serious affairs, which were used in the place of warfare to
work out disputes. Even without weapons, these games were hotly
contested and it was not uncommon for one or several players to
loose their lives before the outcome was reached.

Choctaw men made a variety of essential tools and
implements for their communities. In addition to their own weapons
and the paraphernalia for the stickball game, they made canoes and
did woodcarving.

Before European contact, men probably chipped most
or all of the stone cutting tools. They were probably also the ones
who laboriously fashioned ground stone axes and made shell jewelry.
At least in certain times and places, men tanned the hides that
they obtained on the hunt. Choctaw men did some of the heavier jobs
around the village as well, such as clearing the agricultural
fields before planting, helping to set the large posts of houses,
or of defensive walls around villages, and helping to harvest the
fields when the crops ripened.

Some men also had specialized roles in Choctaw
society, in addition to the various offices of chief. Many of the
Hopaii, or prophets were men, as were many of the Alikchi. Some
Choctaw men were noted and respected orators. Some of the same were
entertaining story tellers and comedians.

Despite the their many roles, Choctaw men of the
18th century, like women had a great deal of time for leisure, far
more than most Americans do today. They spent free time playing
active games and games of chance, laughing, joking, and smoking
with friends, sharing time with their families, and surely some
time just lounging around. They were far being the stoic,
monosyllabic, dim-witted warriors we often see pictured by
Hollywood.

We owe our Choctaw father and uncles, past and
present a very great deal: our very existence. The path that they
have followed has not been an easy one. They mentored the upcoming
generations, they represented the community, and they sacrificed of
themselves, sometimes their very lives, to ensure that the Choctaw
people would survive to this very day.

This Father's Day, let's remember our fathers,
uncles, and grandfathers, past and present for all that they mean
in our lives.

If you have any questions concerning Choctaw
history or culture, please mail to Iti Fabvssa c/o BISKINIK, P.O.
Box 1210, Durant, OK 74702, or e-mail to biskinik@choctawnation.com
with "Iti Fabvssa" in the subject line.

This article and others came from the Choctaw Nation
Biskinik. To see more history please refer to the following
sites.